GIRLS’ DIVISION II-A ROUNDUP : Fullerton Succumbs to Pressure; Alemany Capitalizes, Wins Easily

Though capable of using up-tempo basketball to its advantage, the Fullerton High School girls’ team faced a quicker Mission Hills Alemany squad Wednesday night and lost, 84-63, in the second round of the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs at Alemany.

Alemany (23-4), seeded fourth in the division, capitalized on several quick transitions after missed shots or turnovers by Fullerton (17-8) to increase its 40-31 halftime lead to a 64-41 advantage after three quarters.

“Those turnovers (seven) in the third quarter killed us,” Fullerton Coach Wendy Vrolyk said. “Their guards were a lot more physical than our guards.”

Alemany pounded Fullerton’s guards by bringing the ball up court with a forceful man-to-man press, that forced bad passes and created several scoring opportunities.

“I coach defense,” Alemany Coach Melissa Melton said. “I spend about 70% of my practices on defense. Defense wins you games.”

Or at the very least, it can create a lot of havoc.

Fullerton, however, was able to handle the pressure early. Fullerton took a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter on a three-pointer by guard Marinela Misa with 18 seconds left in the quarter. Misa finished with five three-pointers and tied Alemany’s Samantha Rigley with a game-high 25 points.

But Alemany gradually pulled away in the second quarter behind Rigley’s 13 points in the quarter.

Fullerton senior forward Sommer McLane, who had 24 points and 17 rebounds in a first-round victory over Kennedy Saturday, had 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds. But the tough Alemany defense held her at bay in the crucial third quarter, limiting McLane to a basket.

“We didn’t let Sommer get the ball in her hands in the third quarter and that made a difference,” Melton said.

Alemany center Sarah Guziel contributed 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

In other games:

Cypress 62, Redondo Union 38--Lupe Nava and Jessica Eggleston scored 22 points for visiting Cypress (20-4), which has won 15 in a row. Cypress led, 41-37, going into the final quarter but outscored Redondo, 21-4.

Riverside Rubidoux 57, El Modena 46--Vanguard starters Jamie Shine, Kathy Farina and Jamie Meadows fouled out as El Modena ended its season 14-7.

Melizza Benitez scored 16 points, and made all 10 of her free throws for the host Vanguards. Darlene Wilson had 24 for the Falcons (25-0).